UNSEEN NICHES: 8-Ball zines

by UnseenAugust 16 2016

Alongside Unseen’s main gallery stands you will find the 2016 Unseen Niches, which will showcase a handpicked selection of four artist-run initiatives that challenge our understanding of photography in exciting, forward-thinking ways. We’re kicking off with an introduction of 8-Ball zines; a non-profit community founded by a close group of friends that aims to create a free and open space for people to connect and grow together. 8-Ball Zines hopes to express the international value of zine making as an accessible medium for displaying photographic projects. Read on for a sneak peek of our interview with 8-Ball Zines; featured in Unseen Magazine 2016.

Can you give a brief description of 8-Ball Zines and its aims?
8-Ball Zines, or 8-Ball Community, is a non-profit group that runs workshops, an Internet radio show, a reading library, and a public access TV. We also organise events to support and connect artists of all backgrounds and generations. We aim to create a free space for people to express, meet and learn from one another – like the world wide web, but in a physical form.

What are you presenting at Unseen 2016, and how does this presentation illustrate the wider ideas that 8-Ball is interested in?
Inspired by book stalls in streets around the world, we're presenting a table filled with black and white photography zines made especially for the show by several international photographers who collaborate with us. Visitors will be able to pick up copies by leaving zines of their own, which will in turn become part of the show. This is an expression of the open-access policy we have to creating a new network, in the style typical of zine culture. It is also a way of expressing the international value of zine making as a medium to show photographic projects.

Want to read more? The entire interview with 8-Ball zines will appear in Unseen Magazine 2016, available soon! Be sure to purchase your ticket for Unseen Photo Fair and join us at 8-Ball Zine’s interactive event!